How To Make Solid Bubble Bath on Soap Queen TV

It took me over a year of testing and formulating to find the perfect recipe for Solid Bubble Bath. It dries to a solid bar – but isn’t so hard that you can’t crumble it up with your fingers. Rolling up the bar is a little tricky to get the cute swirl in the center, but if you’ve ever made sushi or a jelly roll cake you will be a pro at this. And, nothing says you can’t start easy and just go with one color instead of the double color that I show in this video.

I had a question….I noticed that when rolled up there was a flat side before being cut…kinda like a swiss roll…..what if i wanted to try and keep them round?? Like a pinwheel? Is it possible to place the bubble bar dough in the fridge to firm it up before cutting it? Keeping it firmer so it stays round? So new to this kind of thing…I’m a baker and that would be my natural inclination but this isn’t cookie dough…. hahaha!

I made this yesterday and didn’t have the lab colors. we used the Labomb colors, which were not diluted per instructions from website. our batch was not turning into a dough. we did not have enough liquid to bind our dough together. it was pretty much like a shower bomb consistency. so to save the batch I added a bit of water mixed it in and then kneaded dough some more. we added 2 bottles of the 10ml la bomb colors. we used witch hazel to bind our batch and then packed them into molds. it has to be the missing liquid from the lab color dilution that is missing from our recipe. how do people using this recipe that use Mica for colorant get the batch to work? thanks

Hmm, that’s weird! Even before we added the LabColors, our batch had enough liquid to hold it together. How much liquid did you use in this recipe? Did you measure that out by weight or volume? Let me know and I’ll help you troubleshoot.

followed recipe: 7oz liquid glycerin, 1.8 oz castor oil & .7 oz fragrance oil. stirred until mixed like in video (measured by weight), next we measured our dry ingredients in a separate bowl (sifted), then put the wet ingredients in with the dry ingredients, mixed with spoon instead of whisk. we were supposed to divide dough in half to add colors. but it didn’t mix like a dough. I make toilet bombs and shower bombs to sell all the time and this acted more like those instead of a dough. I have no clue what happened. so you are saying even if I used a mica as colorant the liquid glycerin, castor oil and the fragrance oil should be enough liquid for the dough?

How strange! We’ve never heard of that happening before. Typically, the mixture forms a dough-like consistency even before the extra colorant is added. So, it should form a dough even with a dry colorant.

If you notice your mixture is dry, you can add extra castor oil and liquid glycerin. That will help it become more dough-like and help you form it into cute little bubble bars. I would start off with an extra .5 ounces of liquid glycerin and test the consistency. If it’s still too try, you can add more glycerin and castor oil until you get the right consistency.

My bars have been drying for almost 2 weeks now and it’s obvious there is too much glycerin in it. Parts of the bar have gotten dried and crumbly while other sides have the dreaded glycerin sweat. I was wondering if it would be feasible to just go ahead and smash all the bars back together and add in a little more dry ingredients to salvage these bars. I used some pretty expensive essential oils having high hopes for this recipe. I did a couple of another batches using a lot less glycerin and they are doing fine so I definitely suspect the glycerin.

Oh no! These bars can be a little wetter based on the temperature and humidity of the area you live in.

You can use your oven to help dry them out! Warm up your oven to 200F and turn it off. Then, put the bars in the turned off oven for 10 minutes and take them out. That should help get rid of any excess wet ingredients.

I was thinking about trying the oven method but am worried about “cooking” out my essential oils or make the bars less fragrant.

Also, some of the bars were so moist they are basically little piles and mounds of dry and wet dough. Should I go ahead and reshape them before putting them into the oven or is all lost and these end up to be an ugly batch?

Hello!
So as i collect the ingredients to make this wonderful bubble bar, I made a visit to my local lush to see how cost affective it is make vs. buy frequently (so much cheaper to make myself) . I tried a few things in store – including a bubble bar.
In it they added Shea butter and cocoa butter to give you an unbelievable softness to the skin and in the bath. Wanting this benefit of hydrated skin especially in the cold season, i was wondering in what way could i put it into the recipe without changing its consistency too much.
Not being able to try how the original bubble bar will turn out i don’t know if it has the same softness. As i did some research on castrol oil it didn’t seam to play a huge roll in the way your skin feels.
Thank you so much!

I am just getting into making my own bath products. I ordered SLS (not from Brambleberry :-() and it’s liquid. Is it supposed to be liquid? Can I still use the liquid? I will order from BB next time to get the dry, I’m just curious about liquid vs dry for this recipe.

Tried to post this but it didn’t post so here goes one more time…. I would like to make these but where I live is so humid that I can’t use glycerin in any of my products because of it being a humectant and thus causing sweat and other problems that ruin my products. It also causes my bath bombs to “go off.” Can I substitute oils for the glycerin or something else? Will it still work right? What is the purpose of the glycerin, is it just to keep it together? If so, oil/melted butters should be fine to use as a sub right? If not, what would I need to sub the glycerin with? I do have a dehumidifier, but that didn’t keep the bbs from going off so I doubt very seriously it will help. Please answer because I have everybody and their mama asking for these jokers and I want to make them happy if I possibly can. Thanks for all your wonderful products and videos. I am a serious BB and SQ fan. I know much time and effort was put into coming up with this recipe and I’m thankful for it. I just sincerely hope something else can be subbed that won’t affect the end result.

thank you so much for working on a bubble recipe! i have been dying to make bubble bars and got right to it.

after i made a few batches and set them out they hardened within a week but i noticed after a couple of weeks they started to cry liquid from each bar. literally in small puddles underneath them and droplets formed on top of them.

have you seen this happen and do you have an idea of what may have caused this so i can avoid it?

Hello i need some help did some awsome soild bubble bath swirl came out followed recipe from the site but i let them dry over night and they have been sitting most of the day and they still feel like i just did them SUPER DOUGHIE…. any suggestion on how i can get them dry this s my first time doing the solid bubble bath

Hi-
I just made a couple of batches of these, followed the recipe except changed color and fragrance oil. My first batch has started “weeping”…. that is little beads of liquid are forming on the outside of them, looks likes is is probably coming out of the inside. It is colored like the part of the bar it is coming from. I wiped it off, but I wondering if I should be concerned? Is this part of the drying process? I weighed everything out but my scale was being a touch fritzy so maybe I got too much of something but the consistency seems right…
Thanks so much!
Jessica

What kind of colorant did you use, and how much? Our La Bomb colorants are glycerin-based, and depending on how much you used, they may be sweating a little bit. This is especially the case in hot, humid climates.

I used lab colors that were diluted as suggest on brambleberry….I didn’t measure just added til I got the color I wanted, so it could have been that but those are diluted in water so would they “sweat”? I may also have over done it on the fragrance a little (like I said my scale was being fritzy)…Could that do it? My second batch has not “oozed” or “sweated” so it must be something funky about my ratios. I guess mostly I am wondering if you think they will A) ever dry out properly and B) work ok….?

Just made the solid bubble bath and used White Tea and Ginger which was prefect. I noticed in Anne-Marie’s video that the second freezer paper was clean from the dough. I used three and each one had dough on the sheet. All ingredients were well calculated, should it reduce the wet ingredients by .1 ounce? Also I used Mica, if I want two colors (as on the video) would I have to make two separet batches?
Thanks.
Shirley

Depending on the temperature and humidity of where you live, these can have some transfer on your freezer paper. However, if the end result is a consistency you like you don’t have to alter that recipe. If so, reducing the liquid is a good place to start.

Anne-Marie experimented with this recipe a lot to get it just right, so you may want to make a small test batch.

Also, you could split this recipe into two and color both halves rather than making two batches. We recommend using our La Bomb Colorants for this recipe, as micas may not mix in well.

I have a potential wholesale customer who wants to use Argon oil and or Shea butter oil in their line of bubble bars. Is this possible if I just use a little. I have followed the recipe to the letter and it has always turned out perfect for me.

Hi im a big fan of you
I try to make this recipe but my bebble bath but after i wait for 4-5 days its not solid it going to change a shape like a bit melt some oil is came out. How can i make it solid. Thank you

I’m sorry to hear that your bars are not hardening up! Did you change anything in the recipe? Let me know, I’d love to help! Depending on your climate, I have heard that these bars can take up to a week to fully harden.

I made these and they look great for about 24 hours. I made two different batches and on day two of drying they start to turn brown, do you know what I am doing wrong or why they would turn brown? I followed the recipe direction exactly.

It sounds like you may be experiencing some fragrance oil discoloration. The fragrance used in this recipe, Celestial Waters does not discolor, but if you used a fragrance oil that contains vanilla, it may discolor to a brown, or tan. To learn more about vanilla discoloration, I would recommend reading the blog post below

I tried this recipe I kept to recipe I didn’t stearin left I used a different colorant that’s it it’s a liquid colorant. After a few days my ars started to turn brown can you tell what causes that so I can try again please

It sounds like you may be experiencing some vanilla fragrance discoloration. What kind of fragrance did you use? Fragrances that contain a high amount of vanilla, or vanillin, will begin to turn brown. This blog post is full of handy information regarding vanilla discoloration

Hi, I just tried this recipe and need some help. Instead of a jellyroll style I used a silicone mold. The dough started to rise up a little from the mold I put it in after a few minutes. But now the dough is still very soft after 30 hours and all the bars are all stuck to the mold? I am wondering what I may have done wrong? How long does it take for the bubble bars to dry? Can I add more of SLSA to save these or is there anything else I can do to save this batch? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

Sometimes these can take a little bit longer to dry, I have heard some feedback that it can take about a week or so. I would recommend giving them more time, before adding anything more to them. We have found that these do tend to stick to silicone molds. Instead of using a mold, you could cut it differently, or even use a a cookie cutter to get a different shape. While the dough is still soft, you could cut them

Very disappointed. Sounded wonderful. Having used lush products I expected that silky smooth feeling to my bath…. it felt very soapy squeaky clean an very drying…. other than the great smell color an bubbles…. no super silky feeling….

I’m sorry to hear this recipe did not meet your expectations. A lot of people really like the squeaky clean feeling, but it’s definitely a personal preference :). If there is anything I can help you with at this point, let me know!

Hi Becky. I tried your recipe for solid bubble bars using the conversion you made for a recipe in cups and such instead of by weight. It wasn’t as mush5 or wet as your other recipe. What would you recommend? Maybe more glycerin or caster oil? Or a lil more of both? I got more the texture of bath bombs…. I also used mica not liquid color but did add 2tbs. Of water….. still kinda dry

If you’d like, you could add a little bit more baking soda to give it a little more stability. While we haven’t tried this, my guess is that it would give you the texture you are looking for I would recommend making a smaller test batch first to see!

Thanks so much for the recipe Anne-Marie! I just made my first batch last night and I’m pretty sure I used too much fragrance oil The consistency is not nearly as firm as yours and I wasn’t able to roll it up. Is there anything I can add to the batch to help it harden up or should I just give it some time to hopefully dry out?

Oh no, I’m sorry to hear you recipe is a little soft. I would recommend giving it some more time. It’s totally possible that they will still firm up If the mixture is still in the bowl, waiting to be rolled, you could also add a little bit more dry Cream of Tartar and Corn Starch to dry it up a bit in order to roll it. I hope this helps!

Hi! I have made these awesome bubble bars twice. Both times I made the recipe exactly like Anne-Marie’s. 1. They didn’t really harden. 2. They turned brown.
I think I know how to make them harden but I’m stumped at the turning brown? Is it just the nature of having vanilla in the fragrance? Would a vanilla stabilizer help?

The fragrance used in this recipe, Celestial Waters, does not discolor and should not turn your bars brown.If you are using a fragrance with a high vanilla content, that could certainly happen. Vanilla stabilizer would probably help postpone the discoloration, but not get rid of it completely. Sometimes these bars can take a little bit longer to harden depending on the environment. Ours took about 5 days after cutting, but some soapers have needed to wait longer

Hi, I am interested on ordering your SLSA through BB since that is the only product I’m missing wit for this recipe, and I’m sorry if here is not the proper place to ask about your product detail but I was wondering about the amount of purity your SLSA has? I didn’t really know the importance of purity in it but my husband wanted to ask about that since he also wanted to use it for other purpose I guess, don’t ask me what it is, he wouldn’t tell really!

I have been trying several different recipes for these bubble bars and I can NOT seem to get them to harden once made. I followed your recipe and I am not sure if maybe it’s too cold in our house or too much humidity (we live in Montana) but any suggestions or helpful hints would be so wonderful! I am so sad at not being able to give these soft things away! I mean they still work wonderfully but I just want them to be able to be put in cute wrapping!

We have found that these bubble bars take a few days, and possibly up to a week, to harden. If it has been less than a week and are still soft, I would give them a few more days :). Let me know how they are in a few more days, I would be happy to help you troubleshoot!

I love your Bubble Bath Bars, thank you for sharing. Question, I used some of my own brown coloring for the bars and they turned the bath brown. If I use your colorants will they turn the bath a color? I would like to do a dark brown, what do you suggest I use this next batch…Having fun, loving these. Thanks again.

I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe! You’re correct, some colors will result in colorful bath water, and possibly even a colorful bath tub! If you are looking for colors that will not result in a colorful bath, I would recommend trying the La Bomb colorants. These are specifically formulated for bath bombs, but would work for this recipe as well. While we do not have brown, there may be some other colors that you like

I love all your receipes but have a hard time finding some of your ingredients. Tapioca powder? Cream of tartar? Vanilla stabilizer?
and: the measures: it is really hard to calculate in oz. not very precise.
could you think of substitutes for some ingredients and will you -someday maybe- give receipes in metric measures or cups. I bought some cup measures for this purpose. Thank you!
And no, ordering from your website would be almost impossible due to high shipping costs and some items cannot be shipped here….. too bad.

Sometimes we do measure in cups, but we have found measuring by weight is a much more accurate way to create bath and body products. I will definitely keep your suggestion in mind though, and will share it with the team!

I love all your receipes but have a hard time finding some of your ingredients. Tapioca powder? Cream of tartar? Vanilla stabilizer?
and: the measures: it is really hard to calculate in oz. not very precise.
could you think of substitutes for some ingredients and will you -someday maybe- give receipes in metric measures or cups. I bought some cup measures for this purpose. Thank you!
And no, ordering from your website would be almost impossible due to high shipping costs and some items cannot be shipped here….. too bad.

I have made this recipe twice and each time they never dry. I live in northern New Mexico in a higher altitude and have to adjust my regular baking with extra flour. Could this be what is happening here? I love these and want to make more but not if I can’t get them to dry… Has anyone else had this happen before? Thanks!!

Were your LabColors diluted? I’d love to help you with this, could you tell me a little more about your methods? While it may not be the color you planned on, luckily the color will not affect your bubble bath :).

Hello, so excited to try this out! Sorry I’m a little new to all of this but would I need to use the labcolor for the m&p or for the cp because I saw they were for a different ph and Im wanting to do a yellow color. Thanks!

Anne-Marie tested multiple recipes over the last year and finally perfected it to come up with this particular recipe.The Castor Oil really helps to keep it bubbly and the glycerin keeps it from being too crumbly. But, if you are interested in trying out a different solid bubble bath recipe (without Castor Oil), here is one that we did earlier this year.

We have found that this particular recipe tends to stick in molds and can tear when you are trying to unmold it. Free-forming it is the best way we have found to work with this particular kind of recipe.

I like to use powder color I have that does not stain the tub, but it seems like it would be very hard to divide the dough perfectly, then add half of the liquid to one dough and half the liquid to the other. I’m sure one side would get too much liquid and the other side wouldn’t have enough, and it seems too hard to split the recipe in half from the beginning, so I was wondering, how hard it would be to add powder color at the end? Would it work, it would make it so much easier.

While you can use powder colorants in your batch, it is a bit more difficult to get them fully saturated (like the liquid colorants). We recommend using either the LabColors or the La Bomb colorants in your batch. Remember to experiment in a small batch to see if what you want to do works for you. Be sure to keep us updated! =)

So I decided to stick with the liquid colors, but it’s been 10 days now, and I’m not sure if they’ve hardened enough. They are sort of hard, but in the middle I can still feel them a bit soft and doughy…I followed the directions to the T, not sure what to do…

The solid bath bomb bars will have a bit of a give if you poke at them. Give them another couple of days in the driest and coolest place in your house. Then you can go ahead and used them in your bath. Let us know how they end up working for you. =)

We found that the liquid LabColors worked the best for us in this project, but you can use mica to color it as well. Be sure to make a small test batch to see how you like the color you are using first! Let us know how yours turns out, we’d love to see pictures if you are able to get any. =)

Yay! We are so excited that they were able to setup for you, if you get any pictures, you can share them with us on Bramble Berry’s Facebook page. We can’t wait to hear more about your soapy adventures. =)

Not a weird question at all! Depending on how you form your loaf and thick you cut your bars, this recipe is going to make anywhere from 8-12. The weight will change as the wet ingredients evaporate from the bar, but a general weight for each of the bars would be around 3.0 – 3.5 ounces a piece. I hope this helps! =)

Great question! The SLSA is the main ingredient that is creating the bubblicous bubbles in this Solid Bubble Bath. There’s not too much that can substitute for it, save for maybe SLS, though SLS has a courser particle size that probably won’t incorporate into this recipe as well.

I have the liquid soap concentrate base that I got awhile back to make the original bars; would I be able to use it instead of the glycerin in the recipe? I know it isn’t the same, but I wondered if it would make the recipe more bubbly, or if it just wouldn’t work…

Hard to say – the Liquid Soap Concentrate is slightly thinner in consistency than the glycerin and might not hold the batch together as well. Why not try out a small test batch and see how it goes? You never know, you might come up with something amazing! =)

What kind of bubble bath is it? Anne-Marie actually carefully formulated this recipe over the last year and found that this combination of ingredients worked the best for us. You could try substituting bubble bath for the liquid soap concentrate in a small batch to see if it works well for you! Let us know what you end up trying.

I’m very excited to try this recipe for my nephews’ bath time fun! I’m thinking animal shapes. They have sensitive skin and are limited in the number of bubble baths they can take, but little boys need bubbles once in a while!!!!

I am wondering about the baking soda+cream of tartar+cornstarch, which is essentially an alkali+an acid salt+ an inert starch. Can I just use baking powder which is, in effect, the same combination? I know cream of tartar is a low temp acid salt, and the sodium aluminum sulfate in baking powder is a high temp (double acting) acid salt. Would this be the issue? Is it that BP doesn’t create the right reaction in the recipe and/or is it too PH neutral?
Also, can I substitute the same amount of sodium coco-sulfate for SLSA in the recipe? I know I won’t get the same amount of bubbles, but it is my surfactant of choice for sensitive skin, when necessary. What about some shea butter (0.5 ounces) for extra moisture?

This recipe is so much fun, especially for the kids with all the fun bubbles. If your nephews have sensitive skin, you might want to take the SLS out as it can irritate those with more irritable skin. Just a note, if you do take it out, you won’t have as many big and fluffy bubbles in this recipe.

With this particular recipe, Anne-Marie spent over a year perfecting it and found that this was the exact ratio of ingredients to make it work fabulously in the bath. You can add Shea Butter to the recipe, but be aware that it will change the overall texture of the batch. If you’d like to try out your recipe, I would suggest a small test batch to see if works for you. You can also try the following recipe which is a base of Baking Soda, Cream of Tartar and Liquid Soap Concentrate.

Thank you so much for taking all that time to create and perfect your recipe! I can’t wait to try it! I have added all the ingredients to my wishlist…know I just need to pick a fragrance…or two!

Quick question…I am wondering if any of these ingredients help make the bath water moisturizing? I have only used a bubble bar a couple of times (from a well known brand) and I found the resulting bath to be moisturizing, and that is something that I want to recreate. If none of these ingredient are moisturizing, is there an ingredient in this recipe that I could substitute all or part for a moisturizing oil or melted butter?

We are so excited that you are going to try these solid bubble bath bars out and can’t wait to see what you think of them. The Castor Oil in this recipe is actually a humectant which draws moisture to skin and has been known to be very skin-loving! Which scents do you think you’ll end up going with? =)

I made this recipe two weeks ago, followed with the video every step and they are still mushy inside and the bubbles are not great at all. I live in a humid area so I run a dehumidifier in my shop to dry my products. no luck with this one, had better results with the simple recipe I found on e how. really was excited to try this. Wish it would have worked better for me.

We are so excited that you were able to try this recipe out. I am really sorry to hear that this recipe didn’t work out for you. I’d love to help you troubleshoot so that we can help you figure out what might have gone wrong. Sometimes bath fizzies, bombs and even solid bubble bath can react to the humidity in the air and even with a dehumidifier it sounds like this might have happened to your batch. Did you use SLS in your batch? I’d love to hear more about your batch so I can help you figure out what happened. =)

In the meantime, you can check out this other solid bubble bar recipe that Anne-Marie put together. I really love the essential oil blend and loved how it felt in the bathtub.

P.S. The best way to get the most out of your bubble bars is to make sure you place them under the warm running water, simply placing them in the tub isn’t going to make them foam and bubble as they would under the running water. =)

HI! I love to try making solid bubble bath after watching your tutorial video. However, I cannot find a written instruction (or a recipe) for swirled solid bubble bath. Can you tell me where to find it? Many thanks!

We would totally love for you to try this recipe out, and unfortunately at this time we don’t have written instructions for this particular video. But, you can check out a similar tutorial (with written instructions) from another solid bubble bath bar recipe that Anne-Marie created earlier this year.

Unless notated, all ingredients in our tutorials are by weight and NOT by volume. We find weight to be a much more precise way of measuring our ingredients and works much better for to get those exact measurements. I hope this helps! =)

Made the bubble bars last Saturday so it’s been 6 days. The last 2 days we’ve had rain. Right now the bars are firm but still soft on the inside. I did because I’m impatient tried a small piece…OMG! it bubbles nicely…I took a very lovely bath
Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. I can’t wait to start making more!

Yay, we are so excited to hear that you have made the solid bubble bath bars! This has been one of my favorite recipes from the Soap Queen blog and I just get so excited when any of our readers end up making them. Did you go with the same colors or choose different ones? I’d give your solid bubble bars a few more days of drying and they should be ready to go! =)

-Becky with Bramble Berry

P.S. If you have any pictures of your fun creations, be sure to share them with us on Bramble Berry’s Facebook page.

Thanks! I already put them on the facebook page. Mine are the green ones. I will have to check today. Are these supposed to complete harden like bath bombs or will they still be a bit tender? I took a 2nd bubble bar to try out and it’s as good as the 1st one

This is such a great recipe and I love it because the bar dries, but isn’t so hard that you wouldn’t be able to crumble it up with your hands in the bathtub. Aren’t they just the best? I got to be a lucky tester while Anne-Marie was formulating these bars and really loved how they turned out. We appreciate your feedback and can’t wait to see more from you. =)

If you are using a cookie cutter to shape these, we suggest packing them tightly on the freezer paper and then pressing the cutter in. You definitely want to make sure it is already tightly packed before you use a cookie cutter so that it all stays together. We’d love to see how your solid bubble bath bars turn out, and if you get any pictures be sure to share them on Bramble Berry’s Facebook page.

Can you explain the difference between this bubble bar recipe and the other one you have out?
Is one better than another for a specific purpose? And does it need a preservative since it has liquid glycerin in it?

Hi Karen,
The recipes just contain different ingredients and have a slightly different final texture. They’re not necessarily for specific purposes, they just give you more options to make different kinds of bath bubbles!

Hi Becky, thanks for taking the time to write me. I followed the recipe of the main ingredients to a “t” except for the color. I only used a few drops of liquid color on one half of the batch. Everything was looking good for me, consistency just like in the video and rolling went smooth. I cut them after rolling and placed them apart on parchemnt paper so they had room to breathe and dry. We are in day 7 of drying now and although I can pick them up without them denting, they are not dry in the middle. What are your thoughts?

My first time posting a comment!!!! So excited watched this video over and over!!! Finally tried my first batch, going on day 5 of drying now and had a question…. My bars are still soft and squishy.. I live in a dry climate so what gives? did I do something wrong, use too much of something? Please help…. And thanks AM for everything!!!!!!

We are so excited that you tried this recipe out and can’t wait to hear how it works in the tub for you. When you were making your solid bubble bath, did you change anything about the recipe? If you let me know a bit more about how you made them, I can totally help you troubleshoot what is going on with them. =)

Hi Becky, thanks for taking the time to write me. I followed the recipe of the main ingredients to a “t” except for the color. I only used a few drops of liquid color on one half of the batch. Everything was looking good for me, consistency just like in the video and rolling went smooth. I cut them after rolling and placed them apart on parchemnt paper so they had room to breathe and dry. We are in day 7 of drying now and although I can pick them up without them denting, they are not dry in the middle. What are your thoughts?

I’m wondering what other colorants you can use in this recipe that are more “natural” and what amounts would I use them in? If using essential oils in place of fragrance oils, would I still stick to the same amount? Thank you so much. Just ordered all my supplies today. Can’t wait to try these!

You will just love these solid bubble bath bars — they are a ton of fun to make!

If you are wanting to add more natural colorants to this recipe, it would really depend on which ones you are working with. Typically, I would stick with a smaller amount and move up from there, giving it a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) glance. If you let me know which colorants you are wanting to use, I can give you more of an exact amount.

If you are wanting to use essential oils instead of fragrances oils in this recipe, I would suggest using about .25 ounces of EO per pound of mixture. You can also use the fragrance calculator and select salts as the product to get a more exact amount.

We recommend La Bomb colorant because they are specifically formulated for bath bombs. The colorants you listed are fine to use, but be careful not to over-color! Try starting with 1 or 2 mini scoops per batch of bath fizzy and you can always add more from there

I just received my order and have completed my first batch! Absolutely Beautiful!! I can’t wait until they dry so that I can give them out.
Was wondering if you might have the recipe in cups, tablespoons etc. I have a scale coming.
Thank you!

We are so happy to hear that you were able to get your box and make these super fun solid bubble bath bars. With any of our recipes, we use weight (and not volume) because it is a much more precise way of measuring out a recipe.

For this particular recipe, Anne-Marie worked for over a year to get these precise calculations so that your solid bubble bath bars would turn out just perfect! You can try using a conversion calculator to get the recipe in cups and tablespoons, but it might not turn out the same.

I hope this helps! If you have any pictures of your solid bubble bars, we’d love to see how they turned out. You can share them with us on Bramble Berry’s Facebook page.

Hi Nancy! I’m sorry that this recipe is giving you a bit of frustration. I’m more than happy to help you troubleshoot this issue! How long did you allow them to setup before you tried cutting them? If you let me know a little more about how you made them I can totally help out. =)
-Becky with Bramble Berry

“Although it seems to be a “safer” alternative to sodium lauryl sulfate, it still does pose the risk of skin irritation. Additionally, it’s not an environmentally-friendly option, as it takes a long time to bio-degrade and does pollute aquatic ecosystems.”

This is a major concern, and really would like an alternative if there is one.

Thanks for the comment and concern about the SLSA. We have found from study and research that not everyone is as super sensitive to it, but we totally understand why you wouldn’t want to use it in your products.

Unfortunately, there really isn’t a natural substitute that will work as well as the SLSA in this recipe. If you want a more natural bubble bath type recipe, I’d suggest checking out this natural bath truffle tutorial.

I just answered this question tonight for someone else so I’m going to copy the bulk of my answer for you here:

That’s a great question. You are right; glycol does bind to water making the product not growth friendly. When used at 50%, it’s considered a preservative system in and of itself and the FDA say as little as 10% makes glycerin a preservative system. That said, some soapers prefer to use a preservative in anything that contains glycerin because glycerin is a ‘humectant’ which means it draws moisture to itself. However, lots of things are humectants (salt for example, that don’t need preservative). Finally, glycerin is shelf-stable on its own (as you alluded to) without any preservative. So, what’s a soaper to do!? To preserve or not to preserve?

The recipe above contains 19.4% glycerin, well over the 10% threshold for glycerin not being an issue in your product.

That said, if you ever are concerned and want to err on the side of caution, definitely use a preservative. You’re the one selling this product, putting your brand name on it and you have to be comfortable with the formulation. In this case, I haven’t tested the pH so I’d go with a safer, more broad spectrum preservative that covered most of the pH options like Phenonip (http://www.brambleberry.com/Phenonip-P4038.aspx) which can be used with products with a pH of 8 or less or Optiphen with no pH restrictions: http://www.brambleberry.com/Optiphen-P3682.aspx

Finally, the lab that we use whenever we do any sort of challenge testing is Sagescript Institute. Cindy is amazing and so knowledgeable and, has a fast turnaround (having worked with other labs, I can vouch for her) =) http://www.sagescript.com/microbiology

Regarding wrapping these, I like drying for a week (they’re pretty squishy and unable to travel without a bit of drying) and then you can wrap in cellophane bags or in wax or parchment paper. The wax and parchment paper allow for a bit more breathable which helps to prevent any sort of water clinging.

Regarding the shelf life, after one week, the more fresh, the better. I would recommend using this product within 6 months.

Wow! You are awesome, A-M! Thank you so much for your thorough clarification! I bow the knee to the Soap Queen!

So there really IS a wide % range when it comes to thoughts on the use of a preservative on products containing glycerin.

So if your percentage of glycerin is under 10%, use a preservative, and which one depends on the pH.

Thank you, too, for the packaging tips and for vouching for Cindy Jones. I already had the Sagescript Institute bookmarked for future use and it’s good to know she comes with your recommendation. When I get to the point where I am selling cosmetic products, I will use her.

But now that brings up another question. How long after production do you wait before sending a product in for testing? Can it be tested right away, or is there a waiting period to see if any icky bad guys have shown up?

There does tend to be a wide range of thoughts when it come to the use of preservatives, but like A-M said, if you ever want to err on the side of caution, use a preservative in your product. And you are correct, which preservative you use with glycerin really does depend on the pH of the product.

We just adore Sagescript Institute and have used them for some time now and have always had great results. On your question about sending your products in for testing, it really depends which test you go with. Most home crafters are going to use the Common Usage Test which is a more affordable test for those with smaller businesses.

In this particular test, you would actually first send in a product for testing and if it counts come out to zero, you are assured that you are starting with good GMP (good manufacturing practices) and your product is not contaminated. After you do that, you would take an additional sample from that first batch that you have ‘tried’ to contaminate. You can find out more about this test at Sagescripts website here:

I’ve used another recipe that includes corn starch. The creator of the recipe recommends potato starch as another alternative. Tapioca starch holds on to fragrance extremely well. I found it at Whole Foods.

Hi Mary! As long as you purchase a powder that only has tapioca in it, you should be just fine. There are some out there that have additives and you definitely wouldn’t want to use those in this recipe. We use Tapioca Powder because it holds the fragrance incredibly well, as well as cutting down on any greasy feelings in the product. Here is a link to our Tapioca Powder which also has it’s INCI listed, as long as yours matches, you should be just fine!

Sounds great! But just wondering about the necessity of needing a preservative since glycerin is a humectant. I’ve read that using ABOVE a certain percentage of glycerin(I’ve seen numbers widely vary…between 15 – 50%,)the glycerin itself becomes the preservative. UNDER whatever that actual percentage is supposed to be, it’s my understanding that a recipe needs an additional preservative.

Then there’s the question of packaging. If moisture loss or gain is a problem, shouldn’t it be airtight to avoid moisture loss, keeping them soft, or worse, that “dreaded, icky, bacteria-laden” moisture gain? Shrink wrap maybe?

That’s a great question. You are right; glycol does bind to water making the product not growth friendly. When used at 50%, it’s considered a preservative system in and of itself and the FDA say as little as 10% makes glycerin a preservative system. That said, some soapers prefer to use a preservative in anything that contains glycerin because glycerin is a ‘humectant’ which means it draws moisture to itself. However, lots of things are humectants (salt for example, that don’t need preservative). Finally, glycerin is shelf-stable on its own (as you alluded to) without any preservative. So, what’s a soaper to do!? To preserve or not to preserve?

The recipe above contains 19.4% glycerin, well over the 10% threshold for glycerin not being an issue in your product.

That said, if you ever are concerned and want to err on the side of caution, definitely use a preservative. You’re the one selling this product, putting your brand name on it and you have to be comfortable with the formulation. In this case, I haven’t tested the pH so I’d go with a safer, more broad spectrum preservative that covered most of the pH options like Phenonip (http://www.brambleberry.com/Phenonip-P4038.aspx) which can be used with products with a pH of 8 or less or Optiphen with no pH restrictions: http://www.brambleberry.com/Optiphen-P3682.aspx

Finally, the lab that we use whenever we do any sort of challenge testing is Sagescript Institute. Cindy is amazing and so knowledgeable and, has a fast turnaround (having worked with other labs, I can vouch for her) =) http://www.sagescript.com/microbiology

Regarding wrapping these, I like drying for a week (they’re pretty squishy and unable to travel without a bit of drying) and then you can wrap in cellophane bags or in wax or parchment paper. The wax and parchment paper allow for a bit more breathable which helps to prevent any sort of water clinging.

Looking at this recipe, I got so excited. I have another recipe for bubble bars but they always feel a bit squishy, even when dried. My first attempt to make these.. Did not go as planned, to say the least. They now look like squishy mounds of icing, lol. My second attempt turned out beautifully though. I can’t wait to let them dry and try them out. By far the best bubble bar recipe I’ve found. I love brambleberry

Yay! We are so happy to hear you’ve already tried this out. I just adore this recipe and can’t wait to try more color and fragrance combinations out. If you get any pictures, we’d love to see how it turned out. You can share them on Bramble Berry’s Facebook page.

Thank you so much for sharing. It’s been really difficult to find a great recipe. I’ve tried one I’ve seen on the web, but didn’t particularly care for it. I’m definitely going to try this over the weekend and will report back!! I’m excited…

I think you will just love this recipe, it was so much fun to see A-M create it and we were just so excited when she found that perfect combination of ingredients. Keep us updated on your progress! We’d love to see how it turns out for you, if you get any pictures be sure to share them on Bramble Berry’s Facebook page.

Good morning, Leanne! La Bomb colorants should work just fine in this recipe, but you might need to use quite a bit more to get the same color saturation we did with the LabColors. You’ll have to keep us updated on your progress. If you get any pictures, you can share them with us on Bramble Berry’s Facebook page.

For people concerned with sulfates and synthetics, SLSA is NOT a sulfate and be aware that Anne Marie was mistaken when she called Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate synthetic.

SLSA is safe skin botanically derived surfactant (foaming agent) excellent for both skin and hair products that produces a rich lather. It has a large molecular size which will not absorb into the skin or mucus membranes, such as sulfates do (they have a small molecular size), and thus it is non-irritating to those parts of the body – with an upper threshold of about 70% for skin products such as bubble bath. In shampoos, to avoid eye irritation, it should not make up more than 3% of the product volume.

The chemical name, when broken down to it’s constituent components tells you what it is made of.

Sodium: a solid mineral salt – It acts as the counterion (pronounced as two words, “counter ion,” but should always be written as one word) – It simply maintains the electrical neutrality of the molecule. i.e. no INHERENT static charge. It works exactly the same way as it does in sodium chloride (table salt), which is a conductor, but has no inherent static charge.

Lauryl: Chemical shorthand for Dodecanol, aka Lauryl Alcohol – This is the hydrophobic (repelled by water) part of the molecule. On it’s own, it is a colourless, water insoluble solid obtained from the reduction of coconut, palm and/or palm kernal fatty acids (oils) combined with methyl esters (natural organic compounds). It has a slightly sweet, floral aroma.

Sulfoacetate: The hydrophilic (attracted to water) part of the molecule. A combination of sulfur and acetate (present in all biological cells and necessary for biosynthesis – the process cells use to make other chemical compounds to grow and feed other cells in the body – aka, a building block of life). The sulfur is there to help the acetate create stable bubbles and soft lather.

My personal opinion is that the product is a synthetic but I also have a fairly strict definition (which isn’t a legal definition as we know) of what defines natural and not natural.

My thinking is: If you can create it with minimum effort in nature (i.e. boiling an herb to get the essential oil or grinding the nut to get the oil), it’s natural. If you have to react things in a lab and there’s zero way to make it from what is available from nature, it’s not what I consider natural.

I agree 100% that it is entirely safe (I wouldn’t use it, nor promote it if I didn’t believe it to be safe). It is Ecocert certified and is natural in origin. But, in my opinion, it doesn’t fit under what I believe the general public would call “natural” and so I don’t call it that in the video. But, it’s a total personal preference on what one person’s natural is versus another person’s so I think there is room for both of our views =)

I understand what you are saying and I agree. I would not call SLSA “natural” either, but that does not make it synthetic. It’s not a black and white world. there are a billion shades of grey and perspective certainly matters. Personally, I find the term “botanically derived” to be the most accurate in this case.

As a biochemist I have to agree with Anne-Marie, SLS is not considered Natural. That doesn’t mean the origin is not from plant, but all molecules come from nature. From the chemotherapy drugs I use to surfactants. If the base structure is found in nature, but then we modify it chemically then it is not “natural”…it is a derivative of a natural phytochemical. That doesn’t mean it’s not safe..just that is has been altered and most of the time altered to become more bioavailable, more stable, and most of the time safer.

Hi Amy! Unfortunately, this recipe won’t work as well in a silicone mold because it tends to stick to the molds. Instead of using a mold, you could cut it differently, or even use a a cookie cutter to get a different shape. =)
-Becky with Bramble Berry

Thanks so much for sharing your recipe! You saved me years of trial and error trying to develop a recipe that I can be happy with. When I use one of your recipes, I know your knowledge, expertise, and creativity went into it to make it great.

I have been anxious for this recipe ever since you said you were working on one. Even though I’ve been waiting on the edge of my seat :-), I appreciate that you didn’t put the recipe out there for us to try until you got it just right and were pleased with the quality of the finished product.

Hi Jean! Thanks for the comments. We can’t wait for you to try this recipe out. It is just so super bubbly and fun in the tub. I was lucky enough to be one of the testers for this and can’t get enough of it. =) Keep us updated on your progress.

Good morning, Marisa! The recommend usage rate for your bath is going to be 1/2 a bubble bar to a full bubble bar depending on how many bubbles you want. I’d try it out yourself and see what works the best for you. =)
-Becky with Bramble Berry

Hello, I have a question, is it obligatory to add cream of tartar and can it be substituted with something else? Another question is about tapioca powder, can this ingredient be substituted with another ingredient (we don’t have tapioca powder where I live:)? Last question about SLSA, is there any other ingredient that doesn’t contain LS that can be added instead? Many thanks!

We’ve been testing this recipe over the last year to get it absolutely perfect and found that the Cream of Tartar really does help to make it the the mixture fluffy and stable. But, if you choose not to use the Cream of Tartar, baking soda is actually a great substitution. We’ve added the SLSA to this recipe because it helps to create those super fluffy and long-lasting bubbles. In our testing, we didn’t find another ingredient that worked as well as the SLSA for those fun little bubbles. I hope this helps! =)

Woo! That was so awesome! I am off to order the ingredients now. Well I have most already, so just a couple. I was so engrossed in this video that when you asked, “Do you want to see how it works?” I found myself nodding yes. Ha!

Keep us updated Leslie! We are so excited to see all of our customers interpretation of this project. Plus, you are going to have a great bath-time with all these fluffy bubbles. =)
-Becky with Bramble Berry

We’ve tested multiple recipes over the last year and have perfected it to this one. The Castor Oil really helps to keep it bubbly and the glycerin keeps it from being too crumbly. But, if you are interested in trying out a different solid bubble bath recipe (without Castor Oil), here is one that we did earlier this year.

Hi Amanda! Typically, it is going to be the same product as many manufacturer do use the term interchangeably. But, I would double-check the ingredients and make sure it is only Tapioca Starch and nothing else added. If you want to check the INCI for your Tapioca Starch/Flour against the one that Bramble Berry sells, ours is labeled Tapioca Starch Polymethylsilsesquioxane. I hope this helps!
-Becky with Bramble Berry